UCLA 64, USC 60

The Trojans suffered yet another disappointing loss to the Bruins at Galen Center on Sunday night (They are now 0-3 against UCLA at the Galen Center). It was a very intense, back and forth game that the Trojans had in their control for much of the second half. When it came down to crunch time, however, the veteran and battle tested Bruins showed why they are ranked #10 in the country. Here were my impressions from Sunday's loss:

-The Trojans remarkably were able to stay in the game in the first half despite Taj Gibson missing most of it because of foul trouble. Keith Wilkinson knocked down some big shots, and Wilkinson and Nikola Vucevic did a pretty good job on the boards. Marcus Johnson also gave the Trojans some solid minutes. It certainly helped that Kevin Love and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute no longer make up an imposing Bruins front court, but nonetheless, give credit to Wilkinson, Vucevic, and Johnson.

-Tim Floyd made a terrible decision to leave Taj Gibson in the game after he picked up his second foul early in the first half. I know it was a big game and having Taj in there helps tremendously, but ultimately, it hurt the Trojans because he picked up his third foul shortly after. Taking Gibson out after the second foul would probably have enabled Floyd to bring his star player back in the later part of the first half.

-The opening minutes of the game, when UCLA jumped out to a 19-8 lead, were very bad for the Trojans. Against a great team like the Bruins, you can't afford to get down big early. Luckily, USC was able to battle back, but they have to start better in their upcoming Pac-10 games.

-DeMar DeRozan was a force to be reckoned with in the first half. He had 11 points and showed the variety of ways in which he can score. DeRozan had a couple drives to the hole, a layup or two after offensive rebounds, and several pull-up jumpers off the dribble. The thing that I was so impressed with was his outside shooting. It's clear that he's been working hard on it after struggling early in the season, and it's really starting to pay off. UCLA did a good job limiting DeRozan to 4 points in the second half, but if he continues to play how he did in the first, DeMar will live up to all the pre-season hype without a problem.

-Jrue Holiday looks like another Darren Collison in the making. He can handle the basketball, plays great defense, and can score in many different ways. His floater over Taj Gibson that gave UCLA the lead for good late in the second half was unbelievable. Even more importantly, he has the confidence you have to have to become an elite player. After air balling a three early in the first half and getting heckled by the student section, Holiday calmly knocked down a three a few minutes later, and only got better as the game went on. After he drained the three, he pumped his fist as he went back to the UCLA bench for a timeout. He's going to be a good one.

-Nikola Dragovic was the X-factor in the game for the Bruins. He knocked down three threes, which all seemed to come at key times. He also had a couple buckets in the lane, and was solid on the boards as well. In close rivalry games like this, you need someone unexpected to step up and deliver a big performance, and Dragovic certainly did.

-The Trojans failed to capitalize once they gained a six point lead midway through the second half. Instead of putting the nail in the coffin, they allowed the Bruins to get right back in the game. It seemed that once the Trojans got the lead, they played tentatively instead of going for the knockout punch. Give credit to the Bruins for battling back, but USC let an opportunity to put the game away, in front of a riled up home crowd, pass them by.

-Tim Floyd's coaching down the stretch was horrendous. On offense, it didn't look like the Trojans knew what they were doing. There was no urgency to get the ball into Taj Gibson, our best scoring option. We were constantly using up the entire shot clock because we couldn't find a good shot. With about a minute and a half left, the Trojans had the ball coming out of a timeout down by three. The possession that followed consisted of wasting time and Daniel Hackett dribbling around the perimeter looking for someone open. It looked like the Trojans were clueless and the shot they ended up getting was a very low percentage Dwight Lewis fade away jumper from about 15 feet. On top of the that, Floyd failed to use all of his timeouts, leaving one on the board. With 24 seconds left and down five, instead of dribbling past half court and calling a timeout, the Trojans instead wasted a bunch of time before putting in a meaningless layup with 10 seconds left. How you don't use all of your timeouts in a close game like this is inexplicable.

-The Trojans lack of depth is an issue again this year. Coming into the season, I thought depth would be an asset to this team, however when Alex Stepheson was declared ineligible and Kasey Cunningham went down with an injury, the Trojans depth took a big hit. When Leonard Washington comes back, they should have decent front court depth. However, they still won't have much depth in the back court. Donte Smith has not shown an ability to be a productive back up point guard to Daniel Hackett, and Marcus Simmons has been battling injuries once again. If Smith can step up, it would be huge for the Trojans.

-USC is a much better rebounding team than they were a year ago. They don't necessarily have much better size, but it is clear that Coach Floyd has made it a priority to rebound the basketball. Of course, it helps to have maybe the best rebounder in the conference in Taj Gibson on the squad. I believe USC has out-rebounded all but one of their opponents this season.

-Both teams are worse than they were a year ago, especially the Bruins. UCLA lost Russell Westbrook, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and Kevin Love to the NBA, and it showed. Their normally stingy defense under coach Ben Howland created only 8 turnovers, and they had several stretches when they had trouble scoring. Last year, if Taj Gibson missed most of the first half with foul trouble, the Bruins would have put USC away. Instead, they let the Trojans stay right in the game. Also, after jumping out to a 19-8 lead, they let the Trojans come back. As for USC, they at least have the potential to be as good if not better than they were a year ago. Right now, however, they are struggling to score without O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson. Depth in the back court is again an issue, and as a result, Daniel Hackett is playing a ton of minutes. When Leonard Washington comes back, USC will be an even better rebounding team and will have another scoring threat in the post. If USC can put everything together, they can be a dangerous team in the Pac-10.

-The past two losses have been very damaging to USC's hopes for a Pac-10 title. Losing to Oregon State, even if it was on the road, is completely unacceptable. Now, the Trojans need to pick up some wins, especially on the road, that they weren't expected to get. The first order of business, however, will be to beat a very good Arizona State team at home on Thursday, and a solid Arizona team here on Saturday. The Trojans must start winning again quickly, or their hopes for a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, let alone a Pac-10 title, will be lost.

Back here with analysis before and after Thursday's game against ASU. Thanks for reading. Fight On.